Idiots Are Running Schools And They're Making Pussies Out Of The Kids
Darren Smith weekend guest-posts at law prof Jonathan Turley's blog that, starting this school year, Dubuque, Iowa public school students in middle and high school will be made to wear heart rate monitors to determine their activity levels (and their grades per those activities levels) in gym class:
One has to wonder if the idle ones are not the faculty of these schools in that they do not seem to believe that watching the students' participation as it is done everywhere else is effective. Or, is it simply easier to just port the heart rate monitors directly into the grading software.The value of these numbers is also questionable. All things being equal a comparison between a student with great athletic ability is going to have a lower heart rate than sedentary student during exercise or resting; that is in simple terms.
Looking at the Smith/Turley blog post and the associated links, it seems to me that somebody in Dubuque saw some cool technology and said, "Look! Cool technology! Let's use it to solve a problem we don't have!"
That said, commenter Max-1 on the Turley site (08/18/14, 05:32AM) had an interesting point: The Polar GoFit technology might be useful as a means of protecting students who might be overdoing it. Even then, though, teachers would have to be trained on how to use it properly.
Old RPM Daddy (OldRPMDaddy at GMail dot com) at August 18, 2014 5:18 AM
Hmm, this would totally have blown my whole talk-to-friends-on-field-and-look-busy cover during gym games. I guess I would have had to fake menstrual cramps more often.
NicoleK at August 18, 2014 6:39 AM
A child is far more likely to die from an enlarged heart, a ruptured aorta, or some other physical defect which the monitor will not detect.
MarkD at August 18, 2014 6:47 AM
Useful information being misused. Again. Because it seems easy to do. What next, measuring how much taller a preteen grows over the course of a year? If a kid with both patents under 4'7" does not gain height as fast as one whose parents are at least 6' will it affect a "grade" - as BMI does?
John A at August 18, 2014 7:57 AM
Are they going to tie the heart rate "grade" to the lunchroom fare? So, if a child gets their heart rate up, they get an extra orange in their lunch?
Because, numbers.
flbeachmom at August 18, 2014 9:43 AM
It may be the start of common core.
Intelligent Design: Common Core’s Core Goal
Jim P. at August 18, 2014 1:34 PM
Wellness Director?
Conan the Grammarian at August 18, 2014 1:39 PM
I'm not sure how this turns kids into pussies. If it does what it seems designed to do -- keeps kids from coasting on the sidelines and pretending to work -- then it seems like a decent idea. It encourages kids to work at their capacity, which means teachers can determine how much effort kids are actually putting in, instead of just giving gold stars to the jocks for being jocks.
MonicaP at August 18, 2014 3:20 PM
Just implant the goddam brain control chips and surrender the kids to the government already.
No need to whitewash it.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at August 18, 2014 6:12 PM
I've sometimes used a heart rate monitor in my own training. But then, I know what I'm doing with it. I really doubt the phys ed instructors and kids will bother figuring out how to use one appropriately, and that could do far more harm than good.
I certainly don't think heart rate monitors are necessary in a kid's gym class (nor do I think it will turn them into pussies, but whatever). And I think it's ridiculous to determine their grades by it. Actually, I think it's ridiculous to have grades at all in a gym class. It should be pass/fail. You show up, you participate, you pass, even if you suck. And I say that as a person who thinks exercise is a wonderful and valuable thing. Kids shouldn't have gym class figured into their GPAs. That's just stupid, IMO.
The one useful thing a heart rate monitor could do, IF used appropriately, is measuring whether a not-so-athletic kid is putting in a healthy effort, or if he is in danger of over-doing it. But you'd have to know his resting heart rate and max heart rate to determine that, and then monitor his heart rate while exercising. It's not one size fits all.
And I'm not so sure anyone is going to bother going to all that trouble. It could really backfire if the gym instructors just assume everyone fits a standard chart. There's really a huge variation in people's resting and max heart rates.
Gail at August 18, 2014 8:10 PM
The Grand Prix motorcycle racing film, "Faster" has a short segment on heart rate monitoring by Dr. Costa, the Clinica Mobile physician attending every race.
Surprise! Seven time world champion Valentino Rossi's heart rate never rose above 130 on the track, while his primary competitor Max Biaggi routinely approached 175.
So. YMMV
Radwaste at August 19, 2014 1:39 AM
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